Research summary · Nutrition and recovery
Tart cherry and selected markers of muscle recovery
Nineteen trials examined tart cherry juice after muscle-damaging exercise in trained athletes. The review assessed strength, jumping, soreness and biochemical outcomes, with evidence searches through December 2025.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Systematic review and meta-analysis
- Journal
- Sports Medicine - Open
- Population / context
- Trained athletes across sports
What the publication reports
Main pooled analyses favoured maximal-force recovery and selected C-reactive-protein measurements. Jump performance improved at 48 hours, but not immediately or at 24 hours. Soreness, creatine kinase and several other inflammatory markers showed no clear pooled benefit.
Limits and interpretation
Results differed substantially between trials, and some findings depended on individual studies. Evidence certainty ranged from very low to moderate. Benefits for selected laboratory outcomes should not be presented as a universal recovery or competition-performance effect.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Effects of Tart Cherry Juice Supplementation on Recovery from Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage in Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 41945263DOI: 10.1186/s40798-026-00993-3Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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